In the map below, white spots show where people's eyes never adapt to darkness — when eye rods take over from eye cones. Red shows where people can't see the Milky Way. Anything but black shows some level of light pollution.

Fabio Falchi et al.

Here's a global map:

Fabio Falchi et al.

And a chart of the most light-polluted countries. Again, white shows the population living under skies that never get dark enough to cause eyes to adapt to night.

In addition to making astronomic research difficult, it can impact biological circadian rhythms, altering the behavior of birds, reptiles and even humans. A recent statement from the American Medical Association also warned against the dangers of LED lights, which are increasingly replacing street lamps due to their energy efficiency. The blue light emitted by LED bulbs is more disruptive than traditional warmer-looking lighting.

But in a Quora thread about the absence of stars in Singapore's night sky, local contributors have a few tips about how to find glimpses of them. User Ryan Phung suggests traveling to remote places in the city, like Tanjong Beach or Pulau Ubin. And Akshay Mamidi suggests looking up long enough for your to eyes adjust, then using a star chart to make sure you look in the right places.

Residents of Singapore are not alone in their struggles to see the stars. According to the study, 99% of US and European populations live with some level of light pollution, and 80% of North Americans can't see the Milky Way either.

Other countries plagued by high levels of light pollution include Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. The world's least light-polluted countries are Chad, Central African Republic, and Madagascar, where more than 75% of the population has pristine views of the starry night.

In the report, the researchers write that they hope their data will aid others who study the impacts of light pollution as cities inevitably continue to get brighter.

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